I worked with Mark Brand and his firm on a recent home remodel and had a great experience from start to finish. I had an awkwardly shaped addition that I had been struggling to figure out, and Mark came up with several creative layout options that I never would have considered on my own. He walked me through each one, clearly explaining his thinking along with the pros and cons, which made the process feel collaborative and low stress. We ended up transforming the space into both an additional bathroom and a highly functional utility room. I was especially impressed by how he turned such a challenging footprint into something so practical and beautiful. He also handled the San Francisco permitting process, which was a huge relief and allowed our contractors to get started right away. The finished rooms look amazing, and the entire process felt smooth and well managed. I would absolutely work with Mark again and highly recommend him to anyone looking for a thoughtful, solutions-oriented architect. read more

We hired Mark Brand Architecture to address several problems with our 1939 big-five home in San Francisco. We contemplated redesign of the lower floor, an update of the façade, and the entire re-envisioning of the terraced backyard, it's connection to the house, and flow between the living spaces inside and out. Mark and his team were a joy to work with. His knowledge of and experience with San Francisco's Building and Planning codes and the department made him a perfect partner for our project. He provided us with several novel solutions, and he walked us through each one -- carefully validating his designs with our desires and our budget. For the lower floor, he 'found' space we didn't think we had. For the façade, he created a look that was fresh yet integrated beautifully with the neighborhood. The topography of the backyard was particularly challenging. It was a hassle to move from the main floor to the backyard, frustrating our joy of outdoor living. Mark's solution resolved conflicting elevations between the building and the backyard elegantly, making egress to the backyard a pleasure. For this, he was instrumental in selecting and working with a structural engineer to figure out challenges of incorporating some very high retaining walls. We loved his solution. We would hire Mark again in a flash. He is a pleasure to know and a pleasure to work with. read more

Mark Brand Architecture is top-notch. He and his team did an excellent job helping us when suddenly our originally hired architect firm failed us. They stepped in and took on our project with ease and grace. Their experience and expertise pulled us through and allowed us to get the job done. read more

We hired Mark to design an addition to our home. He and his team did an excellent job creating a beautiful and practical design which incorporated our stylistic preferences. We were also impressed by their ability to blend the new structure with the current structure. The team was very attentive and easy to communicate with and were always responsive to our input. Mark's team also did an excellent job navigating a complicated permitting process while preserving design intent, especially given the many constraints our project faced. In the end the project exceeded our expectations and has transformed our little corner of the city. read more

It's been a (long) journey. Very glad that we picked Mark and his team as our partner for this complete overhaul of our primary residence, which lasted 1.5 years. Our goal was to turn our unique but outdated 70's colonial home nested in the woods of Pleasanton ridge into an elegant and modern living space. Mark and Tyler helped us to make our dream a reality with their extensive experience in design and attention to every details. Though the project was over time and budget - not something that Mark's team would have control of - the result turns out to be amazing. We imagine our family living in this beautiful new house for years to come. Thanks Mark! read more

I have worked with Mark Brand Architecture's on several projects from 2010 to present. I hired the company in 2010 in order to build a state of the art dental office from a raw space, the end result was incredible. The budget was accurate, the deadlines were spot on and his team conducted themselves with professional conduct and amazing attitudes. I have continued to work with Mark on several other projects including my personal residence, if I could give out 10 stars he and his team would well deserve it. Markus Watson read more

We loved working with Mark and his team when we remodeled our home in Mill Valley. They listened to our input, challenging appropriately when needed, and incorporating what we then jointly agreed upon in the design. Mark's team brought numerous good suggestions to the project. The end result was something that neither we nor his team would have come up with independently, but the finished project is one that we are all extremely proud of and most importantly represents the lifestyle we live (while the pre-remodel house felt like it was designed for the way someone else lived). Mark's design was especially strong in bringing light into a previously dark home, while still maintaining the natural coolness on hot, oppressive days (which fortunately we don't have too many of in Mill Valley). read more

Mark Brand Architecture - Architects Near Me - San Francisco, California

Mark was very easy to work with. In just two visits to my home and a brief discussion of simple requests, Mark designed a very elegant and modern bathroom that fits my personality. His ability to maximize space but yet draw your attention to various aspects of a bathroom is amazing. He literally transformed my bathroom from a place where I didn't want to spend to much time to a place where I want to spend a lot of time. read more

Mark Brand's architecture team did an incredible job making our dream home a reality. Mark made the process efficient and enjoyable, and his excellent communication kept us informed and current about the progress. The team developed a set of realistic plans that made the project achievable, but that could also be adapted to address unanticipated changes. We especially appreciated Mark's design sensibility and his ability to anticipate customers' needs. In addition, he selected very professional subcontractors who were also a pleasure to work with. The project was completed on time and within budget, and the experience far exceeded our expectations. We were privileged to work with Mark and his team, and would gladly work with him again on our next project. We can wholeheartedly recommend Mark Brand Architecture. read more

Mark and his team are knowledgeable and skilled artists. Mark listened to what we wanted and offered suggestions to meet our needs. He did a stunning job with our kitchen and bathroom remodel. I highly recommend Mark Brand Architecture. read more

I've been in the residential kitchen and bath industry for over 40 years. I've had the privilege to work with many great professionals over the years and I certainly consider Mark one of them. What I most enjoy is the no nonsense approach in the client meetings, design process and in the finished creations. These space are strong, intelligent yet welcoming. That's no small trick, it's a rare talent. I will work with Mark at every opportunity. He makes us all look better as a team. Highest recommendations. read more

Mark's creative ideas, contemporary architectural expertise and amazing responsiveness saved our house. We had started with another architect and had we known about Mark upfront, we would have saved a year and a whole lot of money. Mark easily designed a facade we loved after we wasted a year with others who painstakingly providing mediocre options. Mark and his team are responsive and accessible. When I had "fires" which needed to be resolved the same day, Mark always came through. We have strangers come by all of the time saying they love our house and we give the Mark's name. We have wonderful attributes throughout the house which we appreciate every day and we thank Mark for those as well. In addition to everything else, Mark's fee structure is very fair. Whenever we received an invoice I thought, they delivered a lot for that fee. (I rarely feel this way.) read more

Mark Brand did a two unit project for me in Lower Pacific Heights in 2006. He did a wonderful job paying attention to every detail right down to the door knobs. When it was completed we were faced with the 2008 recession and a major downturn in the San Francisco real estate market. Even though many building were affected in lower value with the downturn, we did not experience any depression of economic value in the project. We were able to weather it well and the property actually appreciated due the wonderful design that Mark did on the building for us. The other issue is when building in San Francisco, it is very difficult to deal with the bureaucratic mess of the the planning department. It is challenging to say the least. Mark and his team was able to work with the planners and inspectors efficiently and effectively to get the project going. Mark and his team is well verse in the complication and complexities of the rules and regulations with the planning department. Mark dealt with the nightmare for me. I sold one of the condos for a record price with his design. read more

After interviewing 3 different architects to design/remodel the lower unit of my 2 unit flat, I selected Mark Brand Architecture. My unit had originally been designed by an architect who must have been on LSD when he designed it, as there was nothing about the unit, which was logically laid out or designed. The entire unit needed to be completely gutted and start over from scratch! Mark Brand is the architect I selected, and I have never had any regret! Mark listened to what I wanted, and within a couple of weeks called to tell me he had 5 different floor plans for me to choose from. The first plan I viewed was better than I could have imagined for the space I had, yet as I looked through the plans each one was better than the one before it! I selected the last of the 5 plans, but choose a couple of features from the prior plans to be implemented with plan 5. I wanted to walk the blueprints through the approval process at the SF DBI myself, and act as my own general contractor for my renovation. Mark and his assistant were extremely accommodating to whatever I wanted to do. They offered suggestions and prepared me for what to expect during the permitting process. I did have one little snafu at the SF DBI, but that was due to incomplete documentation of my structural engineer, and not due to anything Mark Brand or his assistant did or didn't do. Mark and his assistant were friendly to work with, creative in their design ideas, and timely in their work product. When it came to pricing, his fees were significantly cheaper than one of the other architects I interviewed, and only slightly higher than the other architects, but the architects who were slightly cheaper were also a new company, so I felt Marks pricing was very reasonable. The other thing I appreciated was that after Mark created the initial design, he turned most of the work over to his assistant to do the drawings, so it saved me a significant amount of money compared to paying Mark to do all the work himself. I would not hesitate recommend Mark to others, and in fact already have! read more

We love working with Mark and his team. He redesigned our entire downstairs and kitchen and turned our home into a fabulous space for entertains and living. He is accurate, thoughtful. Listens well to what we thinki and embellishes our ideas in a way we couldn't have imagined. You won't be disappointed with his workmanship and vision. read more

I hired Mark Brand Architecture for two projects. One was an extensive remodel of a 1940s house in San Francisco's Miraloma Park and the other was a kitchen update in a 1950s house in Hayward. The extensive remodel turned out to have some unexpected expenses on the construction side of things but that was part of my learning process. On such an extensive remodel you have to bring parts of your house up to code which means possibly tearing out something you thought you could keep or adding something you didn't think you'd need. Remodeling always involves extra costs and you should be prepared for it if you plan to remodel. When my project did run into some of these unexpected things, Mark and his associates were always at the ready to resolve any problem without delay and usually the very same day or within the same day and oft times with the contractors waiting for an immediate decision. The kitchen update was a small project but I needed expertise in arranging the kitchen to make it most efficient and also help to make decisions on materials to use. After working with Mark on the big San Francisco remodel, I knew he would give my smaller project the same attention he did the larger. The kitchen project did come in very close to budget and the overage involved again was caused by one of the unknowns you don't know about until you start tearing things apart. In the case of this kitchen a single circuit was put in the kitchen by the previous owner when a 15 circuit for my needs was the minimum to bring it to code. Those kinds of things you have to expect. The important part of all of this is that Mark and his associates were always right there on the spot to come up with innovative and cost effective solutions to any of the problems remodeling an old house is guaranteed to create. I have recommended Mark Brand Architecture to friends and professionals who want to work with a high quality, knowledgeable and friendly business. read more

Mark provided helpful tips, feedback, guidance, and advice as we made our decisions as first-time home-owners and renovators. He is knowledgeable about building codes and had great ideas about design, lighting, and maximizing square footage. We discovered about 20 square feet of unused dead space hiding behind a wall thanks to his plans! We did run into some issues with responsiveness and occasional lapses in quality of work, but we would attribute this to some staff turn over that Mark experienced in the course of our job. He quickly revised our bill when we aired, and he agreed with, our complaints. We are happy with the plans he developed and are thrilled as we see them become a reality. read more

One year and $18,000 later, we have nothing but the most basic of idea drawings to show for our money and have had to hire another architect. We were misled from the very beginning about the cost of the project which turned out to be more than double what we were initially told (every professional architect and contractor we have consulted with about this disaster has said we were given bad information). We asked for a refund of charges on work that was done counter to our instructions, but instead we received a snotty, threatening email reply saying not only no refund, but that he was keeping our entire $5,000 deposit and that we owed him money!!! This guy is bad news. Stay way clear. We are filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and the state licensing board. read more

My family compared many, many architects and actually hired someone else due to price. They always admired Mark and his work, but didn't think they could afford him. Mark has high integrity and was always honest about his fees. When things didn't work out with the first architect, we re-approached Mark. And we never regretted it. Mark's designs are outstanding: modern, clean, innovative, liveable. He will give you what you want on budget, at a reasonable cost, on schedule, and it will be outstanding. Mark and his team are talented, reliable, and flexible. My parents' house looks gorgeous. Highly recommended! read more

Mark did an amazing job on our home in Sonoma. What was a fairly tradition ranch house was transformed into a California/Italian villa! It was a big project. We more than doubled our living space and created many, many outdoor places to entertain, relax and enjoy the views. Mark worked with our initial concepts of what we needed: kitchen relocated and made into professional grade; new mechanicals and new three-car garage; new guest wing, etc. Most importantly, the entire vernacular of the house and its relationship to the site had to change - it needed to be opened up and the colors and textures and general feeling of the outside needed to flow in and through the building. Custom molding was used throughout the house to unify what is a rambling, multi-story home; floor tile throughout, but with different patterns that are not jarring but flow from room to room; windows and custom Napa Stone window sills (outside) and surroundings for the fireplaces -- all are great touches that really make this place feel like it has been here like this for 100 years! Of course there was a budget and constraints. (Not to mention the County Permitting process which Mark helped us through.) Through it all, Mark waded in, with good cheer to advise us of what our options could be given that we couldn't have it all. I would use Mark Brand Architecture again in a heartbeat. And not only was this a very pleasant process that was fun, Mark has become a friend as well. We hadn't known each other before - he had been recommended to us by a designer friend we had when we lived in Chicago. Great reference - we are glad we found him! read more

We used Mark Brand Architecture to update and restore an 1875 Victorian home in San Francisco. The work included: updating our kitchen and bathrooms, making structural changes to the house to restore it to it's original grandeur and accommodate a modern lifestyle, adding a two bedroom rental unit on the first floor, and adding a roof deck. Mark's designs worked so beautifully with the original elegance of our home, to be almost imperceptible. He brought to the project a thorough knowledge of Victorian Architecture, as well as City codes. The drawings for our project were completed in a timely manner and they were clear and accurate. As a result, we had no major issues with the planning and building departments, or our contractor, around his designs. We are happy to recommend Mark Brand Architecture. read more

Mark Brand asked all of the right questions and worked tirelessly with the city permit department to make sure everything we wanted to do would be approved. Beyond being amazing on the phone with the city, his design fit with our mid-century home and anyone who has seen it is amazed at the transformation of our small back yard. We started this project with Mark in 2019, long before COVID-19, and completed the major construction in October of 2020. The actual construction began in May 2020 with demo, to completion in October 2020. Mark and his staff were with us through the entire process, communicating with our Contractor and Pool installer and keeping everyone in the loop and on track. I had never worked with an architect before, and feel grateful that my first experience was with Mark Brand and his team. Fees are explained up front, and although the fees were a healthy part of our budget, I know I got what I paid for! Communication with email and phone calls, as well as site visits were always timely, with any issues explained and problems worked through and resolved to avoid delays. read more

I had a similar experience as David S. had. When I complained to Mark I got an unprofessional email explaining how I was wrong and he was right. Mark over promises and under delivers and has a nice way of insulting his clients when they don't agree with him. Remember the client has the final decision and pays the bill, oh and Mark's designs are not very innovative or creative when he copies other architects designs. Luckily I have a friend who is an architect and I hired him for my new project, read more

We're still in the design phase, but I've been working with Mark for several months and couldn't be happier with the designs he's come up with. I enjoy collaborating and Mark is the ultimate collaborator. He's a great listener and turns my thoughts into great designs. Everyone in the office is super helpful and pleasant. I enjoy working with both the 2D and 3D designs and find that they make the decision making process very easy because you can visualize everything. Mark makes the process easy and enjoyable. I'm very satisfied. read more

Mark recently designed our new bathroom, laundry room, and office. He has done an amazing job, and came up with great ideas for our small space. He helped us choose flooring, tiles, vanities, faucets, sinks, and everything else. Mark is a pleasure to work with, and is very responsive. He answered every question patiently and helped us through every step of our major remodel. His staff are every bit as awesome as he is, and are super helpful and respond immediately to any question that we (or the many contractors) have. We couldn't be happier, and would highly recommend him! read more

Looking to do a major renovation of my home, I emailed Mark with an initial inquiry, and he never replied. I can understand an "I'm not interested in your project" response, but NO response? Not good. read more

Worked with Mark Brand Architecture over many years. The company has always been accessible and reliable. The staff has been helpful and very professional. And Mark has been instrumental in providing good and accurate advice. read more